THE CARROLLIAN The Lewis Carroll Journal - ISSN: 1462 6519 - Clare Imholtz - The Lewis Carroll Society
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THE CARROLLIAN
The Lewis Carroll Journal
No. 34 ISSN: 1462 6519
Phoebe Carlo, Lewis Carroll’s First Stage Alice
Clare Imholtz
A Previously Unknown Dodgson Brainteaser
Thomas Wright
THE CARROLLIAN: THE LEWIS CARROLL JOURNAL
ISSN: 1462 6519
www.thecarrollian.org.uk
Issue 34, Published December 2020
The Lewis Carroll Society,
9 Hampden Road,
Harrow
HA3 5PP
Editorial Board Jane Skelly, Editor
Lindsay Fulcher
Bob Cole
© The Lewis Carroll Society and the individual contributors, 2020. Material may
not be used without permission. See inside back cover for further information
about The Lewis Carroll Society
Cover illustration: Phoebe and the Cat by E. Morant Cox Dramatic Notes,
December 1886 p121
www.lewiscarrollsociety.org.uk
THE CARROLLIAN
THE LEWIS CARROLL JOURNAL
No. 34
LIST OF CONTENTS
Editorial ……………………………………………………………..2
.
Original Articles
Phoebe Carlo, Lewis Carroll’s First Stage Alice
Clare Imholtz ……………..…………………………………………..3
A Previously Unknown Dodgson Brainteaser
Thomas Wright……………..………………………………………...30
Letter to the Editor
Bob Cole……………..……………………………………………….51
1
Editorial
.
Little Phoebe Carlo was Lewis Carroll’s first Alice in 1886. Clare Imholtz’s
article traces her fortunes from a successful child stage actress to an
accomplished music hall performer, and eventually a woman of considerable
means.
With Christmas approaching, perhaps this year more than most finds us
looking for distractions to fill the long winter evenings. For something to get
our teeth into, Thomas Wright introduces a new Carroll brainteaser from a
previously unpublished letter, inviting readers to send in their own answers
to a logical conundrum about a dinner invitation.
Lastly, we return to what became of the little Alices. In his letter Bob Cole
reminds us that Isa Bowman, who took over from Phoebe in Carroll’s
affections, went on to feature in the 1949 British film comedy ‘Vote for
Huggett’ as one of the three sisters. Follow the YouTube link and spot Isa
if you can!
Jane Skelly
2
Phoebe Carlo, Lewis Carroll’s First Stage Alice
Clare Imholtz
Little Phoebe Carlo was Lewis Carroll’s first stage Alice—a tremendous
opportunity for her but a huge responsibility for a 12-year-old to carry. The
story of the plucky little girl who descended into a weird wonderland, and
later went through a mirror to the almost equally bizarre looking-glass land
was already becoming part of England’s national identity when Phoebe took
the stage as Alice in December 1886. Twenty-one years after Wonderland was
first published and fifteen years after Looking Glass, about 140,000 copies of
the two books together had been sold. The Alice books were certainly
overdue for portrayal on the professional stage, and there could be no doubt
that the lead star would be crucial to a play’s success (or failure). Phoebe
succeeded brilliantly. As The Stage put it on July 29, 1887, “Miss Phoebe
Carlo, as Alice, without doubt was the pivot on which the whole play
revolved.”
Despite her youth, Phoebe Ellen Carlo (1874–1941) (her surname was
sometimes spelled Carlow) was an experienced actress when she took the
role in the production of Henry Savile Clarke’s operetta Alice in Wonderland,
which ran at the Prince of Wales theatre in London from December 24, 1886
to March 18, 1887, and then continued on a provincial tour. The play
included scenes from both Alice books: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1872).
Phoebe was not only the lead; she had for a time a real friendship with the
books’ author, Lewis Carroll. In 1888, however, she was replaced both on
the boards and in his affections by Isa Bowman. Afterwards, Carroll, and
subsequently most Carroll scholars, lost track of Phoebe. It turns out she
had a colourful rest of her life.
Carroll first saw Phoebe perform on New Year’s Day 1883 when at the age
of nine she sang in the pantomime Whittington and his Cat at the Avenue
Theatre. He commented on the performance in his diary, but did not mention
Phoebe specifically, being more concerned about “a piece of indecent fun in
the harlequinade.”
3Carroll saw Phoebe again on March 28, 1883, playing the role of Ned in
Henry Arthur Jones and Henry Herman’s The Silver King (dubbed Carroll’s
favourite play by Alice theatre expert Charlie Lovett) at the Princess’s. He
wrote in his diary, “Little Phoebe Carlo, (who, in the Avenue pantomime
sang “They call me such a pretty little thing”) looked sweet...” Ned has no
lines so Phoebe could not do much more in this play than look sweet.
Evidently Carroll also saw Carlo perform at The Princess’s on January 12,
1884, in Henry Herman and W.G. Wills’ Claudian—a play he liked so much
he returned to see it again on May 17, 1884. Carlo played Caris, the daughter
of the slave girl Serena, which was probably another role without lines, and
there is no comment on her performance in his diary. But in Spring 1885,
The Silver King was revived and this time Phoebe had a speaking part. She was
soon to play a large role in his life as well.
On May 15, 1885, Carroll, who frequently went to some lengths to make the
acquaintance of child-actresses who impressed him, travelled to London and
called on the Carlo family “to make acquaintance with little Phoebe Carlo
(who now plays “Cissie” in The Silver King).” He “borrowed Phoebe,” and
took her to see paintings: Triumph of the Innocents by Holman Hunt at the Fine
Art Society and paintings of children by William Blake Richmond at The
Grosvenor Gallery. In the evening he went to see The Silver King,
commenting “Phoebe does very nicely.” Era, April 4, agreed: “A hearty word
of praise is certainly due to ... Phœbe Carlo”.
It seems that the part of the fatherless young girl Cissy (as the name is
actually spelled), moved Carroll deeply. When Mary Mallilieu played Cissy in
October 1891, he wrote to her: “Every time I’ve seen it before, I’ve sent little
“Cissie” a book.” In Phoebe’s case, perhaps he handed the book directly to
her instead of sending it. He had a second outing with her in London on
June 6, which included a trip to the Royal Academy and a visit to Miss
Chreiman’s class. Mary Ann Chreiman (1843–1927) was a very popular
gymnastics teacher who taught a system of whole body exercises for girls,
including marching and dancing, designed to strengthen joints and every
muscle in the body, develop the respiratory system, and cultivate
attentiveness. (See British Medical Journal, 1883; ii :1253.) Carroll often
expressed concern about the health of his young friends, but there is no
indication that he signed any of them up for lessons with Miss Chreiman.
4He wrote to Mrs. Rix (Jemima Bostock Rix, mother of child-friends Lottie
and Edith) about this outing: “I borrowed a young friend (only seen once
before) at 8 a.m. to go to the R.A. and took her home at 6 p.m. True, she
hasn’t yet reached the shy age: being not quite 10 [actually she had just turned
11]: she is a little actress (I may have mentioned her in writing to Edith:
I don’t know, and though her parents are “only working people” (as she took
care to write me word before I had met her), she has very nice manners, and
was a charming companion to take about among my friends. Some of her
talk was almost thinking aloud: before one of the pictures I had said
something (I forget why) about worshipping idols, and she broke out almost
indignantly “I'd never be so silly as that! I'd always worship God!” Her mother
seems to be a good woman, who is trying to bring up her child to be so too.”
The 1881 UK census describes Phoebe’s father, William as a packer and
factory hand and her mother Phoebe, née Rawlings, as an actress. (Despite
her working-class background, Phoebe evidently did not drop her h’s—or at
least not too badly. Read on!)
Then on June 26, she spent the day with him in Oxford—a typical day for a
child-friend visiting him—one which involved calling on several of his
married lady friends and seeing the sights. Phoebe’s visit must have included
a tennis game with Emily Daniel, the wife of Henry Olive Daniel. On August
21, Carroll wrote to Mr. Daniel from Eastbourne, “Mrs. Daniel’s little Tennis
pupil, Phoebe Carlo, is now playing ‘Kit’, (a boy of 5 years old) in ‘Hoodman
Blind’ at the Princess’s.” (Maggs catalog No. 427, Autumn 1922, p. 77 item
2211). Later that day, after “my tired little friend had a good nap on my
knee,” he took her home to London.
Two weeks later, on July 11 he and Mrs. Carlo discussed a “plan of having
Phoebe down to Eastbourne,” the seaside town where Carroll spent so
much of his holiday time. Indeed, she visited him there from July 24 to 28.
He described the visit in a letter to Edith Rix (July 29?, 1885): “I went up to
town and fetched Phoebe down here on Friday in last week; and we spent
most of Saturday upon the beach—Phoebe wading and digging, and “as
happy as a bird upon the wing” (to quote the song she sang when first I saw
her). Tuesday evening brought a telegram to say she was wanted at the
theatre next morning. So, instead of going to bed, Phoebe packed her things,
and we left by the last train, reaching her home by a quarter to 1 a.m.
However, even four days of sea-air, and a new kind of happiness, did her
5good, I think. I am rather lonely now she is gone. She is a very sweet child,
and a thoughtful child, too. It was very touching to see (we had a little Bible-
reading every day: I tried to remember that my little friend had a soul to be
cared for, as well as a body) the far-away look in her eyes, when we talked of
God, and of heaven—as if her angel, who beholds his face continually, were
whispering to her. Of course there isn’t much companionship possible, after
all, between an old man’s mind and a little child’s, but what there is is
sweet—and wholesome I think.”
He had her photographed while there, probably by William Hardy Kent, a
commercial photographer whom he often used when in Eastbourne.
Lindsay Smith (Lewis Carroll: Photography on the Move, p. 210) says, “It is rare
to find surviving examples of those photographs Carroll had made at
Kent’s” and apparently this photograph has not survived.
Phoebe had been called back to London to begin rehearsals for Henry
Arthur Jones’ Hoodman Blind. Carroll saw the play shortly after it opened,
commenting in his diary, “Phoebe, as the little boy ‘Kit,’ is charming.” The
Illustrated London News, on August 22, said: “Miss Phoebe Carlo...[is]
thoroughly deserving of praise.” The Artist, September 1885, stated that she
adds “a good deal to the interest of the performance,” while the St. James
Gazette (August 19) said the child is “very prettily impersonated by Miss
Phoebe Carlo.”
Was Phoebe the first little girl who had stayed with him at Eastbourne? A
letter to Mrs. J. Earle dated August 13, 1885, shortly after Phoebe’s visit,
hoping she will send her daughter Maggie to stay with him, certainly gives
that impression: “I have been having a child-friend from London staying as
my guest. The landlady here being a very nice motherly person, and the maid
a very efficient “lady’s-maid” makes such a plan quite easily managed. And
now that I have tested the possibility of it, I want another child-friend (any
age short of grown-up, which I dare not attempt, for fear of Mrs. Grundy,
would do) to take her place.”
Five years later (September 7, 1890) when he asked Gertrude Chataway to
come for a visit, hoping that she doesn’t find the request “outrageous,” he
wrote: “I never thought of such a thing, myself, until five years ago. Then,
feeling I really had accumulated a good lot of years, I ventured to invite a
6little girl of 10, who was lent without the least demur.” Clearly he is referring
to Phoebe.
In 1886, Phoebe played in provincial performances of Sister Mary, a play
written by two of the biggest names in Victorian theatre, Wilson Barrett and
Clement Scott. She won praise from Era, for both the Brighton performance
(March 13): “Miss Phœbe Carlo made a pretty and intelligent Harry Reade”
and that in Hull (March 27): “Little Phœbe Carlo is also very pleasing as the
child Harry.” There is little recorded contact between Carroll and Phoebe
during this period, except that his diary notes he called on the Carlos on June
12, 1886.
Then, on August 28, 1886, he received a letter from Henry Savile Clarke,
asking for his blessing on a dramatization of Alice. (Unfortunately, none of
Clarke’s letters to Carroll have survived, though we do have most of Carroll’s
letters to him.) Carroll, a theatre devotee, who had long been hoping for an
Alice play, thoroughly approved, on condition that no “coarseness, or
anything suggestive of coarseness, be admitted.Ӡ
Right from the beginning, Carroll was not reticent to make suggestions. Alice,
after all, was his creation. It probably wasn’t long before he started thinking
about Phoebe as the lead. On September 13, he asked Macmillan, his
publisher (who often did small favours for him in London), if they could
track down the Carlo family (he believed they had moved) to deliver a note.
Macmillan failed to find the address, but Carroll must have found them
through other means. On October 1 he called to see Phoebe, “but cannot
get her for Eastbourne as rehearsals, at Olympic, began on Monday.” (This
casual comment makes me wonder if Phoebe had been to Eastbourne other
times after her initial visit.)
Then on October 26 in a P.S. to Clarke he suggested that Phoebe play Alice:
I shall be much interested to hear the names of any of the company engaged
— specially of the “Alice”, whose age I should also like to know. I have a
dear little friend on the stage — Phœbe Carlo, now playing in “The
Governess” — who might do you good service; but possibly the piece she
is now in will be running too long to enable you to get her. Whatever you
do, don’t get an Alice that drops her H’s!
7The Governess opened at the Olympic on October 21 with Phoebe playing the
part of the child Jeanne, and closed on November 5. There is no record of
Carroll having seen it, possibly because the reviews were terrible. But
Phoebe’s performance was often singled out for praise:
Morning Post, October 22: “After the leading character, by far the best was
the charmingly natural acting of Miss Phœbe Carlo.”
Era, October 23: “Miss Phœbe Carlo won the hearty approval of all by her
strikingly clever and natural portraiture of the child Jeanne.”
Freemason’s Chronicle, October 23: “Little Phoebe Carlo thoroughly realized a
difficult part for so young an actress. Bred to the stage from her infancy, this
little lady is quick to perceive the value of correct and telling emphasis. She
has a splendid delivery, and made a grand success of the part of the child
Jeanne.”
Lloyds Weekly Newspaper, October 24: “Miss Phœbe Carlo won great favour
by her bright and expressive rendering of one of the children.”
Reynolds Newspaper, October 24: “the phenomenally clever rendering of the
sister Jeanne by Miss Phœbe Carlo.”
Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, October 30: “A singularly clever and
well-trained child-actress.”
Since The Governess closed fairly quickly, it did not interfere with Phoebe
playing Alice. Carroll notes in his diary on October 30 that Clarke had
engaged her—something he must have done almost as soon as he received
Carroll’s suggestion.
In a long October 31 letter to Clarke, Carroll bombarded him with
suggestions about the play, including two or three specifically relating to
Phoebe. He had visited the Clarkes the day before. The length and detail of
this letter shows that his mind had been working overtime since.
“Now please don’t reject the following suggestion, till you have well weighed
the “pros” I have to urge. It is to have three Acts, the middle one being “The
Hunting of the Snark”. I am a great advocate for giving people plenty for their
money. Why should 3 hours be too long? You might begin at 2, & get it over
by 5. For the child-part of the audience, I am quite sure 3 hours wouldn’t be
a minute too long. I took 2 children to the Brighton Pantomime: it began at
7, & ended at 11, & then I said “Would you like to have it all over again?”
“Yes!” they cried, & I am quite sure they would have gladly sat up for it. But
8my main reason for wishing for this interlude is, to give a real rest for Phœbe,
in the middle of her hard task. I am greatly afraid of her breaking down
physically, before the thing has run a fort-night: but you see this Second Act
wants nothing but men: she needn’t come on at all: & if you can make it last
(say) 30 minutes, that, with 2 intervals of 10 minutes each, will give her 50
minutes rest: & then she will have some chance of being fresh and vigorous
for the 3rd Act.”
He then continued:
“There are two things I want to be allowed to do as my contribution towards
the experiment. But I don’t understand the etiquette of these matters: so
please tell me if I can properly offer them or not.
One is, to dress Phœbe at my own expense. I should not spare
expense, you may be sure: & I would take the best artistic advice, & try to
make her as perfect a picture as possible (N.B. but I could not undertake this
under restrictions of any kind such as “the dress must be such a colour”. If I
undertake it, I must have ‘a free hand’. The other is, I would like to procure
her some lessons in singing, from the best teacher available.
You see, a great deal of the success of the piece must necessarily
depend on Phœbe: and it will be well worth while to do all that can be done
[to] give her as good a chance as possible.
(Entre nous: I also intend to ask Mrs. Arthur Lewis, as a personal
favour to myself, to let Phœbe come & recite to her, & to give her the benefit
of her long experience in hints as to action, &c. I shall probably ask the same
favour also of Miss Ellen Terry: but I think Mrs. Lewis’ advice will be best
worth having, as she has had actual experience in such teaching.)” Mrs.
Arthur Lewis was Carroll’s friend, the former Kate Terry, an actress herself
before her marriage.
Because we do not have Clarke’s letters to Carroll, we don’t know his specific
responses but we can glean that Carroll’s suggestions did not go over well,
for on November 2 Carroll with very good grace wrote to Clarke, “I will
now execute that beautiful strategic movement known as “giving way all
along the line”, & withdraw my suggestions ‘en masse’, the ‘dress’ question
included. Amateurs have no business to put in their oar: it only spoils
things.”
9The pre-production publicity campaign for the Alice operetta touched upon
both Phoebe and Carroll’s role in procuring her. For example, The Young
Folks Paper, November 27, noted that “An ideal Alice has been found in the
person of Miss Phoebe Carlo, whose suitability for the part has been
specially recognized by Mr. Lewis Carroll.” The Morning Post had used almost
exactly the same words (November 15).
The Illustrated London News reported on December 21, 1886 “The day before
Christmas Eve we are to see the dramatic version, by Mr. Savile Clarke, of
those delightful child romances “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through a
Looking-Glass” by Lewis Carroll...Alice is to be personated by Miss Phoebe
Carlo, one of the cleverest of child-actresses, who, if I mistake not, will play
the part very prettily. She is a little artist.”
On December 15, Carroll mentioned in a letter to Clarke, “I am very glad
Phœbe is doing so well.”
The play opened on December 23, 1886, at the Prince of Wales theatre, under
the management of Edgar Bruce, but Carroll was not able to see it until
December 30. He wrote to Clarke the next day with measured enthusiasm
for the overall production and strong praise of Phoebe: “I got a great deal
of amusement & pleasure yesterday afternoon in seeing Alice in
Wonderland. I think Phœbe very good indeed.”
On January 8, 1887, having seen the play again the day before, he sent a few
new suggestions to Clarke. On February 2, the day after his third viewing,
he sent a very long list of suggestions and complaints, concluding however,
that “Phœbe, Dorothy, & the Hatter, make up for a good many short-
comings.” Dorothy was Dorothy D’Alcourt, who played the Dormouse,
while the Hatter was played by Sidney Harcourt.
It seems clear that Lewis Carroll was satisfied with his Alice, that is, with
Phoebe, though he had many quibbles about the play. But what did the press
think? The newspaper reviews of her performance were glowing, except for
a few doubts about her singing, mostly early on. Here is a sampling:
The Morning Post, December 24: “She has succeeded in capturing the precise
tone of perfect simplicity which is the very essence of the character, and in
10avoiding that air of precocious “knowingness” which is the besetting sin of
the average juvenile performer. She sang fairly well yesterday, and will sing
better when untrammeled by the nervousness incidental to a first
performance. Not the least of her merits is her distinct enunciation.”
Era, December 25: “[She] acted the part of Alice with intelligence but her
singing was much inferior.”
Daily News, December 26: [She] “seems to lack something of the sustained
vocal power which the part demands but that may have been due only to the
nervousness of a first performance. In spirit and vivacity, in intelligent
appreciation of the peculiar key of drollery, it would be hard to conceive
how her performance could be surpassed...It was amusing to observe this
juvenile performer playing now and then the part of a prompter in a whisper
or otherwise adroitly helping a comrade of maturer years out of a difficulty.”
The Stage, December 31: [She] “was safe and reliable in the part, and by her
acting made up for her not very good singing voice.” This review was
reprinted in Dramatic Notes: A Year-Book of The Stage (1887) with a drawing of
Carlo on p. 121. (See the cover of this issue.)
Fun, January 5, 1887: “Miss Phoebe Carlo is just the Alice of our hearts—
she seemed a bit nervous at the first performance, which perhaps accounted
for her singing being rather thin; but she’s just the bright-eyed, smooth-
haired, sweet-spirited little lassie we have dreamt of.” Fun also included a
drawing of Phoebe as Alice.
Saturday Review, January 15: “Although her singing voice is not sufficiently
matured to be always pleasant, [she] is, considering her age, an experienced
actress, always natural and graceful.”
All the other reviews offered unmitigated praise, sometimes so fervent as to
be almost beyond crediting.
The Observer, December 26: “The fairy play is capitally acted, especially by
Miss Phoebe Carlo, who exactly catches the air of the little heroine’s
unaffected wonder, as well as of her amiable desire to make herself at home
with her puzzling friends to avoid hurting their feelings.”
The People, December 26: “That daintiest of damsels is impersonated with
the seeming artlessness that hides its own art by Miss Phoebe Carlo.”
Reynolds, December 26: “...clear elocution, graceful and natural movements,
and frank vivacity made her an altogether ideal Alice.”
11Sporting Life, December 26: “Mr. Savile Clarke has been fortunate in securing
an excellent Alice in Miss Phoebe Carlo, whose simplicity of manner, and
refined, natural acting proved of immense value.”
Ipswich Journal, December 29: “acts well, sings well, and dances well.”
Manchester Courier, December 29: “simply bewitching. The ordinary terms of
conventional praise could hardly give any idea of her peculiar charm and
talents.”
Pall Mall Budget, December 30: “Much of the success of the performance
must be credited to the wonderfully clever performance of Miss Phoebe
Carlo as Alice. She is a pretty little child of thirteen or fourteen, with golden
hair falling over her shoulders, dressed in a white Satin frock and white
stockings. This young lady is a born comedian, and plays with really
marvellous appreciation of her part. Every word is audible, every gesture
simple and unexaggerated, and every movement natural.”
Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, January 1: “The combination of decision
with unaffected simplicity in Miss Phoebe Carlo’s Alice is simply invaluable
to the significance of the fable, which would lose half its convincing power
if Alice ceased to be a wondering yet confident child.”
Sporting Times, January 1: “the child of the book to the very life.”
Truth, January 13: “Kate and Ellen Terry, Mrs. Bancroft, Mrs. Kendal, and
scores of others began their stage careers as precocious children, and I do
not see why this little Carlo girl should not follow in their footsteps.”
And finally, warm praise from The Artist, February 1: “This little lady, who
is on the stage almost continuously for the two hours in which the curtain
was up, acted with unflagging energy, and displayed talents of a really high
order. Her easy winsome manner, her air of unaffected astonishment at the
wonders of fairyland, her clear enunciation, her capital facial expression, and
her singing and dancing, combined to make up one of the strongest and
most interesting performances ever given by a juvenile performer. Had Mr.
Saville [sic] Clarke been able to induce the real Alice to step from the pages
of Mr. Carroll’s books, she could have been no more life-like.”
Carroll did not comment on the newspaper reviews though he surely read
them. But he did write his own: “Alice on the Stage”, The Theatre, April 1,
1887. Carroll’s article was accompanied by the well-known photo of Alice
and the Dormouse by professional photographer Herbert Rose Barraud. He
wrote, “Of Miss Phoebe Carlo’s performance it would be difficult to speak
12C00$8@D8=J1$*A$;$F9$ b+9E0==9EC@0KA$ 0S$ %9?@A$ );$
into a fistfight over Phoebe, with whom both had fallen in love. It would be
lovely to have more child reaction to the play.
The play was such a
success that although it
was originally scheduled
to close on Saturday
February 19, it was
extended to February 26,
then to March 2, and
eventually until March 18
(with a brief interruption
for an engagement in
Brighton in early March).
The Illustrated London
News wrote of this break
“It is always considered
in the theatrical world a
very dangerous thing to
‘break a run.’ There were
grave fears that pretty
“Alice in Wonderland”
would never recover
[from] her sudden
journey to Brighton,
where she proved so
Alice/Phoebe has fallen asleep with a book in her wonderfully successful.
lap. The Sphere Dec 22 1900
But the innocent child
has returned to her old home at the Prince of Wales Theatre, none the worse
for her trip, and Miss Phoebe Carlo is once more presiding over a
congregation of delighted children.”
A provincial tour with the original cast followed. On March 27, Carroll wrote
to Clarke, “You ask if ‘the piece’ wd ‘go at Oxford’. I think, yes: I wrote, a
while ago, advising you to send it here — but during Term, not Vacation:
everybody is away just now & won’t be back till the last week of April. Does
Phoebe go with it? If not, I don’t care 2d where it goes, or doesn’t go: nor
14could I advise friends to go & see it with such a wooden ‘Alice’ as Mabel
Love would make.” Love was Phoebe’s understudy, but apparently never
was called on to play the part.
The tour went from April through
most of August (indeed it did not
go to Oxford). Mrs. Carlo
accompanied the troupe, probably
serving as matron. Reviews
praising Phoebe are found in
newspapers in Birmingham,
Worcester, Cardiff, Cheltenham,
Nottingham, Hastings St. Leonard,
Leamington, Liverpool, Brighton,
Eastbourne, Bristol, Dover, and
elsewhere. A sampling of
provincial reviews:
Birmingham Daily Post, April 19,
1887: “the very Alice of Carroll and
of Tenniel. As a feat of memory
alone the performance is a most
Phoebe/Alice withwith
the the
dormouse. remarkable one for a child of her
Phoebe/Alice dormouse.
Drawing by Harry Furniss
Drawing by Harry FurnissStrand Magazine
Strand
years.”
February 1908
Magazine February 1908
Era, April 30 (in Worcester): “Phoebe Carlo makes a capital Alice and enters
into the spirit of the part in a very realistic and vivacious manner.”
Leamington Spa Courier & Warwickshire Standard, May 21: “Perfect
embodiment of Alice, and her many songs were sung with refreshing
simplicity.”
Era, June 11 (in Nottingham): “It is scarcely possible to imagine a more
winsome little heroine...Her vivacity and drollery are unflagging and her
performance is instinct with an appreciation of the part.”
Hastings & St. Leonard Observer, July 30: “wonderful ability for so young a
little lady. She spoke, sang, and danced well, and in our opinion could hardly
be surpassed in any particular in her long part.”
15Eastbourne Gazette, August 17: “There is associated with her acting a piquant
spirit that many older actresses strive in vain to obtain.”
But the most interesting and informative review of all incorporated an
interview with a very self-composed 12-year-old Phoebe, in the South Wales
Echo, on May 11, 1887:
“... in Cardiff during the present week there is quite a colony of little
neophytes in the Thespian art, mere children who during the day amuse
themselves with juvenile antics, whilst at night they elicit the admiration of
a large audience by their histrionic powers.
My first visit was naturally paid to the talented and gifted child who fills the
title role in “Alice in Wonderland.” Miss Phoebe Carlo is only twelve years
of age, and she has already had a long theatrical career, for she was carried
on the stage as a baby of eighteen months. Those who have seen her in the
theatre obtain an accurate idea of her personal appearance, a thing that can
be said of very few actresses, for this vivacious young lady is endowed by
nature with a beautiful complexion which renders “make-up” unnecessary.
She has a very intelligent and animated face, whilst her eyes in themselves
are sufficient to constitute her a more than ordinarily pretty child…
“Although my first appearance before the footlights was made before I can
remember,” she said, “my first genuine part was played when I was four
years old, as I appeared in a pantomime at the Elephant and Castle, in
London, where I was born. You have no idea how delighted I was to be able
to go on the stage, and I did try hard to do my best with my part. Before
long Mr Wilson Barrett engaged me to play in ‘The Silver King,’ and after
that I went on tour with Miss Lingard in Sister Mary…My first great success
was gained when I played with Miss Hawthorne at the Olympic…
“It’s very odd, but I knew the author, Lewis Carroll, long before anyone
dreamed of dramatising his book. Perhaps you know he is a very popular
Oxford Don, and although unmarried, is very fond of children. When,
therefore, his dear little Alice was brought into real life in a London theatre,
he was so pleased to find that I was chosen by Mr Edgar Bruce to be the
leading lady.”
An involuntary smile crossed my face when I looked at the charming little
leading lady, but I asked “Were you trained by someone in your gestures and
declamation, or are they the result of your own inventiveness?”
16“Oh, I assure you, no one ever told me what to do. You see I know the book
well, and I realized that all I had to do was to go on the stage, and be simply
a little girl, which came quite natural…”
Carroll saw the play on July 14 in Brighton, and the following day he took
Phoebe, her younger sister Lizzie (b. 1876), and Dorothy D’Alcourt around
town for visits to his friends, Louie Webb’s underwater performance, and
high tea. He wrote a letter to the St. James Gazette, published July 19,
recounting this day and the buoyant spirits of the three young actresses
(Lizzie Carlo had a small non-speaking part), as evidence that stage children
were not overworked and worn out—the well-being of young actors was a
controversial issue at the time. Carroll bought tickets for the matinee
performance on August 17 at the Devonshire Park theatre in Eastbourne, but
was unable to go when he learned of the death of his cousin Margaret
Wilcox.
On September 16 in London, he went to the photographic studio of Henry
Herschel Hay Cameron (1852–1911, the youngest son of Julia Margaret
Cameron) “and bought some lovely photos of Phoebe, Dorothy, etc. in
costume”—only one survives, at Fresno State University, but it is not from
the Alice play. On January 16, 1888, he bought more photos of “Phoebe,
etc” from Cameron. (Interestingly, Cameron had acted in Act I of the play
as the Executioner, and went on to appear in several revivals.)
On February 11, 1888, he saw Phoebe on the stage in The Golden Ladder—
some 6 weeks into its run—but did not comment in his diary on her
performance. The newspapers, however, approved. A sampling:
London Standard, December 24, 1887: “Carlo is very amusing in the child part
of Victoria Alexandra.”
Sporting Times, December 24: “Clever little Phoebe Carlo looked sweet and
acted capitally.”
St. Stephen’s Review, December 31: “a bright young girl...acts with the self-
possession of a maturer artist.”
Phoebe continued to be prominently in the public eye: The Illustrated Sporting
and Dramatic News of May 19, 1888 featured a handsome full-page engraving
of her on the cover, taken from a photograph by H. H. H. Cameron. “The
very young lady [on the cover] is comparatively an old actress...Her first
17F;$;KN$@C$$?;A$@K$C89$V@9E9$ 0'+1%-+#-!"#$%&'(#$-@K$?8@E8$C89$:
stage, but from all I hear, I feel certain she would make a charming “Alice”.
Véra I have seen, and am absolutely certain in her case. She evidently has
remarkable natural powers, but I attribute much of her success to the
teaching she has had from Mrs. Kendall [sic]. The result has made me wish
you had allowed me to carry out my idea of getting Mrs. Lewis to give
Phoebe Carlo a few hints as to her acting of “Alice”. You thought the only
result would be to distract the poor child: but I now feel convinced it would
not only have done no harm, but would have much improved her, and thus
improved the whole piece and would have saved her from some rather bad
mistakes in delivery, which, when once she had acquired them, I found to
be ineradicable.”
Carroll was obviously disenchanted with Phoebe. His dismissive comments
are surprising given the many glowing newspaper reviews of her elocution,
not to mention his own earlier approbation of her acting, and obvious
fondness for her.
A few months later he was even less complimentary. On August 13 he saw
her as Titania in Eastbourne in Midsummer Night’s Dream. “She spoke too
quick and with little expression: I think the part is beyond her powers.” The
Stage review in June, on the other hand, had said she was “excellent,” and
Era, July 27, said she was “quite charming as Titania.”
As soon as he knew for certain that Clarke was planning a revival, Carroll
went into action. He knew he didn’t want Phoebe as the lead anymore. He
had seen Minnie Terry in Bootles Baby on July 2 and was “a little disappointed,
particularly with her elocution.” He doesn’t want Minnie anymore. He now
suggested Isa Bowman. Isa had appeared in the original Alice play as an
oyster ghost (and possibly at some point as an understudy to Phoebe). He
had first sought out her acquaintance on September 27, 1887, writing in his
diary, “I had seen her in the Alice company and fancied she looked nice.” Isa
had several extended stays with him in Eastbourne and Oxford in 1887 and
1888, and had won a strong place in his affections.
On July 4, he visited Clarke to discuss the revival and suggest that he use
either Vera or Isa, definitely steering Clarke away from Phoebe, whom
Clarke still may have been considering. Later that day Carroll wrote to
Clarke: “One line in addition to what I said this morning about a successor
19to Phœbe. I very much hope you may find Isa good enough for it. So far as
my own wishes are concerned, I would far rather Isa should have it than any
other children. Of course I don’t expect my wish to have any weight if
another child were distinctly better. But, ‘ceteris paribus’, please take Isa! I’ve
never heard her speak on the stage: & so have no idea whether she would
make a good “Alice” or not. I’ve only heard her sing, & I am no judge of
musical matters.”
How strongly LC was engaged in promoting Isa! On July 16, after seeing
Clarke again, he wrote a long argument for casting Isa rather than Phoebe in
the part, rather startling in its vehemence. Clearly Vera was no longer in
competition, but Clarke must have still favored Phoebe.
Dear Mr. Savile-Clarke,
After seeing you today, one or two things occurred to me in
reference to the question “Phœbe or Isa?”, which I would like to put before
you. If possible, please don’t think me needlessly officious and interfering.
Mainly, of course, it shd be a question of “which is fittest?” As to
this: —
(1) Phœbe seems to me too old & too tall for “Alice” now. In my
book, “Alice” is supposed to be about 7.
(2) Friends, who saw the play in its latter days, thought Phœbe was
beginning to play mechanically, & with a want of child-like frankness. This
seems a likely result, after repeating the part so often.
(3) Isa’s “English” is better than Phœbe’s. In one special &
important point, the use of ‘H,’ she is altogether better.
(4) Isa looks more of a lady than Phœbe.
I do not know how much weight you would be disposed to give to
other considerations than mere fitness. But I would like to mention that
(5) Isa seems to have, to some extent, a claim to be allowed to take
the first part, having been “under-study” so long, with a constantly-deferred
hope of having a chance of playing it.
(6) Phœbe has had a very good ‘innings’ already, & could not fairly
complain at some one else having a turn now.
Both children are nice, I think: & both are friends of mine: but on
the whole, I, personally, would be glad to hear that you could see your way
to engaging Isa rather than Phœbe.
20Is there any doubt Isa has won his heart, and Phoebe has lost out? By July
20 Clarke had engaged Isa as the new Alice. Phoebe’s theatrical career didn’t
end, of course, but her role in Lewis Carroll’s life had. She was never again
mentioned in the diaries, nor was there any correspondence with her. Isa
Bowman indeed gave a strong and well-reviewed performance as Alice in
the 1888 revival. In a letter to Winifred Holiday, February 28, 1889, Carroll
said, “I think my little friend, Isa Bowman, was a more refined and intelligent
‘Alice’ even than Phoebe Carlo, though she was a very good one.”
Phoebe continued to appear frequently in the theatre and garner positive
newspaper notices through 1894, although gradually moving from dramatic
parts toward music hall performances as a juvenile dancer and vocalist. She
often appeared in burlesques and musical shows, in London and the
provinces, usually as part of Arthur Roberts’ troupe. Roberts was a well-
known musical comedy performer of the time. Between engagements, she
advertised herself as “At Liberty,” e.g., in Era, December 19, 1891: “Wanted,
known Little Phoebe Carlo the refined juvenile song and dance artist,
premier jig and skipping rope dancer, at Liberty, Monday next. Also for
Panto. Permanent address, 7, So-ho Street, Liverpool.”
Here is a sampling of her appearances and newspaper notices from 1889–
1894:
Era, July 6, 1889: Arthur Roberts’ annual matinee at the Avenue Theatre, “Miss
Phoebe Carlo ‘who is getting a big girl now’ recited ‘The Maniac’ with
surprising earnestness and effect.”
Era, September 14, 1889: “the part of Vivien, in [Roberts’ burlesque] Lancelot
the Lovely, on tour, was undertaken with great success at a few minutes’ notice
by Miss Phoebe Carlo.”
Dart, The Midland Figaro, September 27, 1889: “pretty, dark-eyed Miss
Phoebe Carlo.”
Era, February 22, 1890 [in Babes in the Woods, a pantomime]: “prettily played.”
The Times, October 1, 1891: “Phoebe has grown and grown more beautiful,
and she is a lovely page in ‘Joan of Arc’.”
Era, October 31, 1891: “Phoebe Carlo sings and dances well, and skips with
skill,” in a musical revue at the Alhambra Music Hall.
February 6–June 17, 1892 she alternated with another girl in the part of
Middy in Blue-Eyed Susan at the Prince of Wales, but no mentions of her are
found.
21Era, September 24, 1892: [She is a] “prepossessing little page” in Cinder-Ellen,
Up Too Late.
From late 1893 into 1894, Phoebe acted in several venues in In Town, a
Roberts musical farce (in poor taste in parts), in which, according to The
Artist, November 1, 1892, “rollicking humor and extravagant incidents are
mingled with song and dance.” Era, September 16, 1893: “Miss Phoebe
Carlo is a fascinating Flo Fanshawe.” Portsmouth Evening News, November 13,
1893: [She] “performed some graceful skirt dances in the second act.”
In June 1894, in what may have been a key event in her life, as a member of
the Cairns James Company, she went to Cape Town to perform again as
“Flo Fanshawe.” Cairns James toured in South Africa and North America,
but there is no indication that Phoebe went to North America. In fact, by
June 23, she was playing in a variety entertainment in Burnley.
The last theatre notice that I have found for Phoebe is for a variety show in
Hartlepool in October 1894, not long after her 20th birthday. Her career as
an actress had begun strongly, but after 1888 (age 14 or 15) she had only bit
parts in musical revues. She never played adult roles on stage. Nonetheless,
she was to have an impressive second act in society. Phoebe came up in the
world, beginning it seems around the turn of the century.
The Stage annually noted her birthday (May 30) in its “Chit Chat” pages, but
her next substantive appearance in the press was in the December 31, 1898
Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News review of the revival of Savile Clarke’s
play at the Opera Comique, starring Rose Hersee as Alice. The review notes
“The original Alice—now grown into a beautiful woman—looked on from
a private box, and had plenty of encouraging applause for her successor.”
There was a similar comment by Frederick Dolman in an article called “Stage
Children” in the English Illustrated Magazine in May 1899. “Phoebe Carlo is
now a married lady and no longer on the stage, but for the sake of auld lang
syne she attended the first performance of the dream play at the Opéra
Comique last Christmas and from her box bestowed a beautiful bouquet on
the new Alice, Miss Rose Hersee.”
22When did she marry? The 1891 census had shown Phoebe (16), her sister
Elizabeth (14), and a two-year-old named Daisy, identified as a
granddaughter, living with Phoebe’s parents at 102 Kentish Town Rd. We
don’t know who Daisy’s mother was, much less her father. Most likely
Phoebe—who had no theatre parts between August 1888 and July 1889—
was Daisy’s mother, although it’s possible Lizzie was. But Phoebe must not
have married until later.
In the 1901 census, we see Phoebe
Ellen Ben Juta, of private means,
living with her mother and two
servants at 55 Curzon Street in
fashionable Mayfair. Who was “Mr.
Ben Juta” and why wasn’t he
mentioned in the census? Possibly
she had met him in 1894 when she
went to Cape Town: she ended her
stage career very soon thereafter.
“Juta” is a name very much
associated with South Africa,
although it seems clear she did not
marry into the family of the famed
South African jurist Henry Juta. The
name “Ben Juta” (sometimes
rendered Benjuta) suggests that
Phoebe’s husband was Jewish.
It is certain that Phoebe was no
longer poor, and that she did not live
(or live mainly) in South Africa. In
1903, she won a popular “best-
dressed” contest, the “Smartest
Lady” competition, sponsored by
Pelican magazine. (She had finished in
Smartest lady, Sketch July 29, 1903 p 47
second place the year before.)
The Sketch, July 29, 1903, included a photograph of her almost full page
seated in a chair, identified as “Miss Carlo, now Mrs. S. Juta of Curzon Street,
Mayfair.” She won “a handsome brooch worth 200 guineas.” The Chicago
23Tribune, August 16, 1903, reprinted the photo, stating, “She is famous for her
smart dresses and graceful carriage.”
I have been unable to find any mention of S. Juta anywhere. Did he
(assuming he even existed) remain in South Africa? There is no marriage
record of the two in England and no death record for S. Juta. Stanhope Joel,
the son of her second husband, said that the South African Juta family into
which Phoebe had married was known for “an uncompromising
conventionality and a certain stiffness in dispensing hospitality.” But that is
all he said.
To further the mystery Phoebe in 1903 had a (second?) daughter, Kathleen
(Kitty) Benjuta, although her birth record states her name as Kathleen P. J.
Carlo, presumably Kathleen Phoebe Juta Carlo—but why would she not
have been given her father’s surname? Twenty-two years later, there is a
marriage record for Kathleen P. J. Carlo. (It is worth noting that the marriage
notices described Kathleen as Phoebe’s only daughter.)
Kathleen used the surname Benjuta as a young girl, however. Cassell’s Little
Folks gave Kathleen Benjuta “highly commended” for her response to an
essay contest on favorite book animals in June 1915. She was commended
as well in The Quiver, March 1919, for a Christmas design she had submitted,
and she is listed as a new girl in Michaelmas term in 1917 at Heathfield
School, Ascot, Berkshire, England.
The Royal Blue Book: Fashionable Directory and Parliamentary Guide, January 1906,
lists Mrs Juta at 55 Curzon Street, and there are occasional mentions of
Phoebe in the press over the next several years. The Sphere (December 29,
1906), on the Alice revival starring Marie Studholme, mentions Phoebe,
saying, “I wonder what has become of her?” (Phoebe, by the way, attended
this opening as well, as was noted in the Manchester Courier, December 21,
1906.)
In November 1908, the Evening Express reported that a window cleaner was
charged with stealing jewellery and curios valued at £50 belonging to Phoebe
Ben-Juta, of independent means.
24Following a long period with no news of Phoebe, a strange episode was
reported in several newspaper articles in March 1918. Phoebe was taken to
court on the charge of food hoarding, and fined £75. The Gloucester Journal
headline reads, “A Lady’s Food Accumulations.” The police evidence
showed that on searching the house 200 lb. of sugar were found in seven
different places. They also found corn, rice, maize, and semolina. The food
filled half the court. There were two ladies and three children in the house
(in Hunter’s Vale, Virginia Water in northern Surrey), but no servants.
Phoebe was indisposed and unable to appear, but had stated that it was her
custom to keep large stores: “I do not consider it hoarding.” She was
“kindness herself” to the investigators who visited her and gave every
assistance in the search.
On May 30, 1918 Madame P. Benjuta donated pearls to the “Red Cross Pearl
Necklace” charity, said The Times.
In November 1919 Phoebe married Solomon (“Solly”) Joel, a
multimillionaire with interests in diamonds, gold, brewing, railways, and
thoroughbred horse racing; a theatre devotee; and one of the richest men in
the world. Joel’s first wife, Ellen, from whom he had been estranged, had
died in August. He had met Ellen (Nellie) Ridley in Kimberley, South Africa
where she, an actress like Phoebe, was on tour. It is possible he met Phoebe
in South Africa as well, either in 1894 or later, but we do not know. (Stanley
Jackson, in The Great Barnato, a biography of Solly’s uncle, says he did, but
he may have had Joel’s two wives confused.)
Nellie had converted to Judaism upon marrying Solly; we don’t know if
Phoebe did the same. At first only a few close friends were aware of their
wedding, but it was announced publicly in mid-January, whereupon Sketch
(January 21, 1920) printed a full-page head and shoulders photo of Phoebe,
looking slimmer and far more attractive than the photo of her as the
“smartest lady” some 16 years before. After the wedding announcement, the
Joels left to party on the Riviera. Phoebe had obviously been well-off before,
but from that day forward, she lived a life of extreme opulence and
extravagance.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says of her second husband: “A
born gambler, Joel won enormous sums of money but hated to lose. He
25liked to sail in his luxurious yacht Eileen to the Riviera and do the annual
circuit of the playgrounds of Europe—casinos, racecourses, winter sports,
and watering places. His hospitality was legendary. The Joels entertained
lavishly at their country estates and at their Great Stanhope Street mansion
that housed famous works of art as well as the rarest collection of
Chippendale furniture under one roof. His cellars were filled with vintage
wines and his libraries with beautifully bound literary classics, which he never
read. He was witty and gregarious, with catholic tastes and interests.”
The Solly Joels (Jolly Souls, one wit said) had a second mansion, Maiden
Erlegh House, near Reading, where their thoroughbreds were bred and kept.
Joel expended vast sums on this house, expanding it to over seventy rooms
including fifty bedrooms, and installed a £12,000 swimming pool made of
Italian marble and painted with nude frescoes, as well as lakes stuffed with
trout, a polo ground, a cricket field, an aviary, and a deer park. Joel was a
local legend, with stories of lavish parties and mysterious guests. He was also
a generous supporter of local organizations and well-loved in the
community.
Solly had a lifelong love of the theatre. It is no coincidence that he married
two actresses. He had private interests in the management of several London
theatres, including a controlling interest in the Drury Lane Theatre. He and
Phoebe were frequent hosts on the West End. In April 1928, at the Drury
Lane, the Joels had constructed a replica of their yacht the Eileen on stage,
and invited more than 300 guests to celebrate the final performance of The
Desert Song, one of many musicals Solly had helped underwrite. There was
dancing, supper, and “sea effects’ at this “unusual party” according to a
photo caption in the Illustrated London News.
Reputedly, it was Solly Joel who first said: “A diamond is forever” (later the
slogan of De Beers, in which he had inherited a large interest from his uncle
Barnato). Phoebe was a walking advertisement for diamonds. Time and
again we can read about the jewels she wore to West End openings in
“Fashions of Stage and Stalls” by Florence Roberts, a regular column in the
Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News:
September 22, 1923: “very handsome, and very happy as usual...and her
jewels of course being wonderful.”
26June 9, 1928: “happy as usual and even more than ordinarily handsome”
wearing “many diamond bracelets and bangles blazing and four graduated
ropes of wonderful pearls.”
April 27, 1929: There was “an audible hum of excited and admiring
comment” when she entered the theatre. In addition to her Russian ermine
stole and black lace gown, she wore black suede gloves which reached above
her elbow and a mass of diamond bracelets, but also a necklace of “large and
perfect pearls, and a second, almost waist long, of diamonds in a double link
design, while lengthy diamond and pearl earrings represented still another
fortune.”
June 22, 1929: her long white kid gloves were “covered from the wrist
almost to the elbow with diamond bracelets” and her black gown “overhung
by ropes of pearls.”
The Tatler reported from the Riviera, where they visited regularly on their
yacht, on March 7, 1923, “Mr. and Mrs. Solly Joel were both playing, and, of
course, everyone gasping with envy at her pearls. They really are wonderful.”
It is obvious the Joels’ competitive urges were not limited to gambling, horse
racing, and business. Solly’s attire was as renowned as were Phoebe’s jewels.
He modeled his appearance on Edward VII, and was said to have a different
suit for each day of the year. You can imagine the figure they cut together.
Yet while all this extravagant partying was going on, Phoebe was not in good
health. Solly’s son Stanhope, in Ace of Diamonds, a memoir of his father, said,
“Unfortunately Phoebe was ailing and frequent indispositions curtailed her
appearance at many a glittering function. In 1924 she underwent a serious
operation.” She improved after a stay at the Leeds nursing home of Sir
Berkeley Moynihan, a noted abdominal surgeon, but was never strong again.
In December 1925, the Daily Express reported that she was in poor health
and would not return from Cannes but instead would visit her daughter in
Rome.
Phoebe’s daughter Kitty had been welcomed into the Joel family, and got on
well with her step-siblings; she acquired the nickname “Kittles.” In January
1925 she married Marcello Caracciolo, the impecunious Duke of Laurino.
Solly objected, but he gave her a generous allowance thereafter. Phoebe did
not attend their small ceremony, probably for health reasons.
27In his book, Stanhope told the following anecdote: when visiting Laurino
and Kittles his attention was drawn to a mutilated photograph. The face was
missing and the effect was somewhat macabre. “Oh,” the Duke explained,
“that is your stepmother Phoebe. She is a terrible woman.” We should note
that Stanhope had never liked Phoebe; he claimed that she sowed division
in the family due to her jealous disposition.
Solly had a weak heart; the worldwide economic depression only made
matters worse and he died in 1931 at Moulton Paddocks (a second racing
stable he had purchased in 1922). Both Lizzie Carlo (now “Elsie Cox”) and
Daisy Leonora Carlo (now Mrs. Arthur Sefton Cohen) received bequests.
In mid-1934, Phoebe was again seriously ill. On July 6, the BBC broadcast
an urgent plea: “Will the Duchess of Laurino, who is believed to be touring
England, return home at once as one of her family is dangerously ill.” The
message found Kathleen within an hour. The society pages reported that
Phoebe had to undergo an “internal operation” and was confined to bed in
a London nursing home.
From that point, there is no news of her (save for a 1939 donation of £250
pounds to a fund for sick and wounded in the war) until her death on July
23, 1941. Her executors were Arthur Sefton Cohen and her daughter
Kathleen. She left an estate of £371,497, of which £500 went to the Actors
Orphanage.
Every year on the anniversary of her death, Kathleen honoured her in the
“In Memoriam” column in The Times from 1942 (“In very loving memory of
my mother, Phoebe Joel, who died on July 23, 1941, after a long illness borne
with great courage—K.C.”) to 1950 (“Joel, Phoebe Ellen—In ever-fond and
grateful memory of my mother, who died on July 23, 1941.—K.”)
One great mystery of Phoebe’s post-Alice life was her first marriage. Who
was “S. Juta,” her supposed husband of whom no record can be found in
England or South Africa, yet who had enough money to keep Phoebe in
comfort and send Kathleen to a good school? Was Stanley Jackson correct
that Phoebe and Solly met in South Africa? Why did Phoebe give her
daughter her own surname rather than her purported husband’s? Why,
moreover, did the Dictionary of National Biography, 1931–1940 Supplement state
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